The Official APSOL Newspaper

Menu

Spring 2014

Our school field trip to the Argo Gold Mine.

Movies

As kids anything around us influenced they way we think or act. We tried to be just like the people we saw on the big screen. Every little girl wanted to be princess who got saved by the prince and every boy wanted to be some superhero. As a kid, I was hopeful and no idea or dream was out of reach. That’s what I loved most about movies: each one taught us how to be kind, how to be understanding, and how to follow our dreams. Movies like Aladdin, Dumbo, Toy Story, Pinocchio, Peter Pan, The Little Mermaid, and Ratatouille showed characters struggles and how they over came them. I think its great to show kids that everyone makes mistakes and has a hard time when following there dreams. How could you not fall in love with these movies?
Most adults don’t see the effect a movie and a proper story line could have on a kid’s thinking. Just look at Dr. Seuss: he got all kinds of kids to want to eat green eggs and ham. The Lorax got kids thinking about saving our planet’s trees and wildlife. That’s why I love these movies: they inspire young minds. -Codi K.

Out of all the movies I have seen, the one that touched me the most was a movie called “Radio.” It makes you open your eyes and think about the way you treat other people. Radio was a young African-American man who carried a mental disability. In the beginning of the movie, Radio was bullied by the football players for something he himself had no control over. As I watched that take place I felt the feeling of sympathy and I really wanted to help. However, the movie does take a turn for the better when he becomes the school mascot. Radio becomes known throughout the town and loved by many.
Every day when I see someone with like disabilities, I show sympathy and I’m a lot more considerate of my actions and words. I realize that disabled people are equal to those who aren’t disabled. I feel like they shouldn’t have to ashamed of who they are; the people who are bullies should be ashamed of themselves. Whenever I see something taking place that is a similar situation to Radio’s, I automatically feel that I should jump in and help that person.
With this being said, make sure you are cautious of your actions to other people because they didn’t ask to be born that way. Remember that people with disabilities have a lot more challenges than us so why make their life harder? -Jasmine F.

Summer

Summer is the time of year that everyone looks forward to the most because of summer break. Two and a half months without school is amazing! For seniors, summer is the end of our high school career. When graduation comes we are on our own with college, work, and just the responsibilities of being an adult. Not only do we have summer break, but we now have our whole life. Some seniors don’t look forward to it because as it gets closer some of us realize that we aren’t as ready as we thought we were. We start to get nervous because now everything is up to us.
For me I have looked forward to graduation for years. Now that I am hopefully only a couple days away, I think about it and part of me doesn’t want to graduate. Not because I’ll be on my own; that isn’t a problem for me. A lot of it actually has to do with the fact that no one is going to see it, so I’m not as excited as I used to be for it to happen. My father died my junior year, and my biological father won’t come because my mom is with someone else. My grandmother, aunt, and uncle, the people that watched me grow up won’t be able to see it because I am across the country. The only people that are going to see it are my mom and my boyfriend. That’s all you need right? But it’s not: my mom wasn’t there; she hasn’t been in my life for 10 years, so the fact that she gets to see me graduate and not the people that raised me makes me not want to graduate. The people who raised me can’t see it, but I should do it for me. It is something that should make me proud because I completed high school. I made it through the four years and it shows that I can actually do something with my life. Walking to graduation and getting that certificate shows that you actually did something for yourself, and that is all you need. No one could come to your graduation, but as long as you are proud of yourself that is all that should matter. Nothing else should take this away from you. -Taylor M.

There are a lot of fears that come along with graduation. Yes it is a very big step in your life. I have worked very hard to get to this point and now I am scared.. I now have to grow up. I am more scared about everything that comes with leaving. These have been some of the hardest years of my life and now I don’t know what is going to happen. The overall fear is the fear of the unknown. I don’t really like changes and now is the time that a lot of changes take place. I don’t know what to expect from the next chapter in my life. I know that every one says you will love it you will be happy! I don’t really feel that way. I am at a point now that I am just in awe. I don’t know how to feel. Don’t get me wrong; I am very happy that I have made it through high school and that I can say I did it, but it is going to be hard to be done. It is starting to sink in and I don’t know if I like it . I go from being happy to being sad because something reminded me about something that happened. I am glad and thankful for all of the people that have stood next to me and helped me get to the point I am at now! -Alea M.

I’m sure a lot of people are excited to begin their summer break; everyone is planning to have a party or even a graduation party. I, on the other hand, am not excited at all to begin summer break. I know I have no chance of graduating on time with my classes. I know I will be in summer school again and beginning the school year once again.
I am disappointed in myself, but I can’t let it take over my life. I am not going to graduate in 2014 with all of my friends. I don’t even want summer to come because I realize how much of my time I have let slip over and over again. I keep replaying in my mind how I will not be going to my friend’s parties to keep myself away from everyone. I have already been asked if I would just go ahead and get my GED so I don’t have to keep going to high school. I feel like I won’t do that only because of how far I already am in school. It’s strange that I’m not worried about the sun burning me, my swim suit being too small, or the fights I will probably get into.
To be honest, the only thing I’m excited about for summer is getting to see my aunt. Besides that, can only see summer screwing with me and making me hot and uncomfortable.
I guess we can assume that summer and I this year will just be Tom and Jerry. -Ashley S.

10 Years From Now…

10 years from now I’m hoping that I will have graduated college with a master’s in computer science and working for a company that produces films or video games. I’ll probably be married to Katy Perry and we’ll have like three kids. Me and Kate (she prefers me to call her that) will be living in Seattle since I love Microsoft and she loves the weather. By the time I’m 27 I will have invented the first virtual reality game in which you can live out your greatest fantasies in any universe imaginable. I’ll still pretty much be the same person except I’ll be 6’5″ with washboard abs. To get to that point will take a lot of work, but nothing is impossible. I hope every day I can someday make this a reality. I have already started emailing Kate our wedding info so it won’t be long now till she gets back to me. I do like twenty crunches a day so I’m already pretty swollen. But in all seriousness, a good life isn’t just handed to you and no matter how ridiculous your goals in life may be, nothing is impossible. So work hard and strive to achieve your goals no matter how silly or crazy they are because your life is what you make of it. -Alex V.

In 10 years, I envision myself as happy and hopefully successful. I hope that ten years from now I’ll have my own home, a successful business, and a nice small family. I don’t plan on getting married or having kids, but I do plan on having a pet as well as a person to spend my life and share my love with. I would like to create a successful business in either health care, handmade fashion, cleaning and restoration services, or all three.
I can see myself living somewhere in Denver or the mountains, in a nice little cottage-type house with a big yard. I’m obviously not going get there by doing nothing; I am going to have to work really hard for my ideal future. I plan on getting a business degree, starting my own business or businesses and stay completely motivated for the next ten years. But it’s like I always say: hard work and dedication will pay off in the end.
I can also see myself accomplishing my dreams of travel, adventure, new friendships, and a healthier mindset. In ten years, I will be far from the person that I am today. I will have grown, made mistakes, learned from them, and have completely different views and tastes on everything. I’m hoping to improve myself rather than lose myself, and I plan on doing this with faith and personal growth. I can see myself living a nice, leisurely lifestyle, with family, happiness, and music close to my heart. What will be important to me in 10 years, you ask? to simply be HAPPY. -Emma R.

10 years from now, I will be in my 20′s. I see myself being a lawyer, and to get to that point I would have to go to law school and a few years in college. I will have to work hard to get up to that point, and I will not give up. I do see myself being married and maybe having two kids. I don’t think that I will rush into a marriage or kids; I would take my time and make sure that the one I am with is the one that I want to have kids with and marry. When I choose to have kids, I don’t want to be too young or too old when I have them. I want a boy and a girl, and I want to be around 25-30 when I have them. I plan on living in Orlando, Florida because when I went there for vacation I fell in love with it. I love the weather and the environment. I don’t really know what all of it is like because I was in a small area of Orlando, but it is just so beautiful.
I see myself having a good job, and having an amazing family. I will have hopefully accomplished a lot of my goals. I think that the the most important thing in my life would be my family. I say this because growing up I didn’t really have my mom, so being there for my future children would be something that I would love to do. Just being a good wife and mother is something that is going to be important to me. I do not at all think that I will be the same person that I am today for many reasons. One of them being that I have made some mistakes in life, and I am still learning how to deal with my problems and let go of my past. So 10 years from now, I see myself being a loving mother of two and a wife. Because of my life goals, and the way that I am planning to live life in the future, I will have a good life. -Monique G.

Ten years ago I would have been able to describe my future perfectly. Aside from hover boards, flying cars and being a pretty pretty princess, I wanted to live in a huge mansion with ten kids, a maid for each one, and a rich husband who provided everything for the family. My bar was set high; little did I know life happened in between.
I’m eighteen, as much as I act like I know everything, there is much more for me to learn. Through trial and error, I continue to learn each and every day. I’ve made mistakes and will continue to do so throughout my life. Lets be quite honest; I don’t know what I’m eating for dinner tonight let alone what my future will hold. But if I had to describe perfection, I see a small blue house surrounded by a white fence my perfectly imperfect husband chasing our one son around the yard. If all I have in life is my family, I will be living like a queen.
No, I do not know what the future holds for me, all I know is I want my family by my side the entire ride. Through thick and thin my family will always be my rock and my reason to keep pushing forward. For whatever my future holds, bring it on. -Cassidy C.

Music booms out of very large speakers, which stand at a reasonable distance from the crystal clear waters me and close family and friends splash and jump around in.
“Does anyone else feel like they can’t hear the music clearly?” My boyfriend (whom I consider family) announces. Without a word, my little sister, who is not-so-little anymore, hops out of the water and dries off her hands before turning the volume up.
The music is booming even louder now. It’s almost midnight, but no one worries. We’re in my backyard, playing in my pool, listening to my speakers, and not to mention all my neighbors are either in my backyard, or too far away to be bothered.
“It’s getting late,” I say. “I should go to sleep, I have work in the morning.” I have already stayed up way past my bedtime considering that I need to wake up at 4am the next morning to make it to the hospital.
“Lame!” my sister teases but assures me she’ll turn down the music and walk all our close friends out when she decides to go to sleep. My sister lives less than a few blocks away, but is at my house most of the time for the pool and the company. She decided to spend the night tonight.
I say goodnight and head inside to make a midnight snack before bed. My boyfriend comes with and ends up making the snack for me as well as one for himself and the rest of our friends. Although we are close we have different rooms (so that we can keep our space and sanity), he tells me he’ll see me after work and returns to the backyard.
I pass the 50 inch flat screen in the living room which my tabby cat almost seems to be watching animal planet on, then My boyfriends room, which is full of video games and his German Shepard whom sleeps silently on his bed. I reach my room which is full of stuffed animals, movies, video games, posters, and cat toys. A blanket of comfortableness falls over me as I smell the candles I had lit earlier that day. I jump into PJ’s and prepare for bed by putting Harry Potter on my 60 inch flat screen TV and feeding my cat.
I drift off into sleep remembering how all of this was just a dream for me 10 years ago. At 15, I was determined to make this dream come true. I began planning my future and taking college classes Jr. year. It took a huge amount of determination and focus, but I got my masters degree by the time I was 23 and found a job soon after. Now I work hard as a pediatrician, have a pool, a gigantic house with a library and many flat screens, I have two fluffy cats, a loving boyfriend, and my sister and I are as close as I always thought we’d be. I worked hard to get where I am, and I am proud of myself.
However, I have more plans. Me and my boyfriend will soon be married and have children. Eventually I will quit my job as a pediatrician and open a business with my boyfriend and my sister. I have already taken business classes and went to culinary school and I’ve been saving up to make this possible. This is a dream that me and my sister have had for more than 10 years and we will make it come true.
My cat curls up beside me and both of us drift into a deep sleep.
This is my life 10 years from now. I will be 26 years old, work as a pediatrician, be super close with my boyfriend and my sister, have a pool in my backyard, 2 cats, and a gigantic flat screen TV in my room. I will never stop working to make my dreams come true. But most of all, I will be happy. I will be the same person I am today just with a little more experience and knowledge; I will love cats, swimming, music, and always Harry Potter. -Alyssa P.